What is Foam Rolling?
Foam rolling is a technique that involves using a cylindrical foam roller to massage out muscle tightness, relieve soreness and improve mobility. It’s an accessible and cost-effective alternative to professional massages and a crucial part of warming up and cooling down during workouts.
Should You Be Foam Rolling?
If you’ve ever experienced post-workout soreness or persistent muscle tightness, it's worth trying.
Important Precautions
Before diving into the benefits, a crucial caution: While foam rolling can be immensely beneficial, it’s not for everyone, especially those with certain injuries. Foam rolling can exacerbate conditions like muscle tears, sprains or fractures. Always consult with your healthcare professional before starting if you have these concerns.
Remember: There’s a significant difference between muscle soreness and injury-related pain. Foam rolling should never be performed on injured muscles or bones.
The Benefits of Foam Rolling
Enhanced Flexibility
Foam rolling can significantly improve your flexibility. Enhanced flexibility can lead to better performance whether you're at the gym, on the golf course or simply carrying heavy groceries from your car. As we age, our bodies become more prone to muscle stiffness due to reduced activity and more sedentary lifestyles. Foam rolling helps keep you moving by breaking up restricted fascia and assisting in stretches that might be challenging otherwise. Just 20 minutes a day can make a noticeable difference.
Muscle Warm-Up
Foam rolling generates friction between the roller and your muscles, creating heat. This heat effectively warms up your muscles, preparing them for exercise. Think of foam rolling as a modern upgrade to the traditional warm-ups you might have done in gym class. It primes your muscles for better performance and reduces the risk of injury.
Increased Range of Motion
By promoting short-term increases in your range of motion, foam rolling can enhance your overall flexibility. Struggling with the proper form of exercises like the overhead squat due to limited shoulder mobility? A quick foam rolling session on your lats can provide the flexibility needed to perform better and safer.
Relaxation & Stress Relief
Foam rolling serves as a self-massage technique. While the process might feel slightly uncomfortable, the relaxation and tension relief you experience afterward are usually worth it. If you’re stuck at a desk all day, foam rolling your neck and shoulders can help melt away chronic tension, offering a refreshing break from the daily grind.
A Powerful Alternative: Compression
If you’re looking to take your flexibility and recovery to the next level, consider booking a Compression session at Restore Hyper Wellness. Compression can help take your flexibility and mobility to a whole new level while providing a deeply relaxing experience that helps reduce muscle aches and pains.
The benefits of Compression may include:
- Improved circulation
- Reduced pain and muscle aches
- Reduced recovery time
- Increased athletic performance
How Does Compression Work?
At Restore, we have a dedicated area where you can take a seat and relax. A trained expert will help fit the Compression sleeves over your desired area—legs, arms or hips. Once your Compression sleeves are on, you can read a book, listen to music or work on your laptop, depending on the area receiving treatment.
The Compression booties and sleeves slowly fill with pressurized air and then expel the air continuously until your session is over. Compression helps your body by increasing blood flow to certain areas. This increased blood flow helps deliver more oxygen and nutrients to an injured or inflamed area of the body, which may relieve aches, speed up recovery and improve athletic performance overall. Sessions take 30-60 minutes and then a trained expert will help you remove the sleeves. The muscles in your arms and legs should feel more relaxed, and you may even notice a reduction in stiffness and pain.
Most clients report feeling the benefits instantly. Ready to try Compression? Book your appointment today.
This blog post was updated June 2024. Medical services are provided by an independently-owned physician practice. Some services may require medical clearance and a prescription. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. Services, therapies, ingredients and prices may vary per location.
The content on our site, blog posts, educational materials, app, promotional newsletters, and any other written content are not intended to replace an evaluation with a qualified healthcare professional and are not intended as medical advice.
